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My Fellow Orange County Republicans –
The official filing period for the March 2020 election has closed. We now know who will be on the ballot and what the field will look like for victory in 2020.
I am proud to say that there is a Republican candidate in every single Congressional and State Legislative seat in Orange County. I want to thank every Republican who has chosen to place their name on the ballot. Whether you are running for Congress or the Central Committee - being a candidate is not easy and your willingness to represent our party in your community is admirable.
The opportunities and challenges for the March primary election and November general election are unlike anything Orange County Republicans have experienced before. While the challenges are difficult, our opportunities are tremendous. If we as Orange County Republicans unite we can defeat the Democrats and send a message across the nation that Orange County is not for the taking.
Our first challenge is the reelection of Orange County Supervisors Don Wagner and Andrew Do. For county seats, if a candidate gets 50% plus one of the votes, that candidate wins in March and does not need to go to a November run-off. It is our intention to deny the Democrats "round 2" in November and win these seats outright.
Supervisor Wagner has one Democrat opponent - the daughter of a wealthy Democrat donor who can self fund her campaign. With only two candidates in this race one is guaranteed to win outright in March. We cannot allow the Democrats to put a dent in our 4-1 majority on the County Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Do faces a different challenge in a heavily Democrat district where he has successfully overcome the registration disadvantage by uniting Republicans and winning over independents and moderate Democrats twice. He is facing three well known Democrat opponents. We have a great opportunity to win in March with a divided Democrat field and Supervisor Do's ability to win over non-Republican voters.
In March, we must also ensure a Republican gets into the "top 2" in each partisan race and advances to the November ballot to ensure voters have a choice between a Republican and Democrat.
Our Republican Congressional candidates have been working harder than I have seen candidates work before, and with Democrats moving forward with impeachment - Orange County Congressional Democrats must now be on the record. We will hold them accountable. Will they vote to move forward with a costly and baseless impeachment of President Trump or focus on important issues that affect Orange County families like healthcare, affordability and public safety?
In the State Senate we have two competitive seats to hold. Senator Ling Ling Chang will once again face Josh Newman who was recently recalled for his deciding vote on the gas tax we're all paying for at the pump. Senator John Moorlach has two well funded Democrat opponents who will have to duke it out over who is more liberal before facing Senator Moorlach in November.
In the State Assembly we have four targeted Republican seats to hold and one Democrat seat we have the opportunity to win back. In the 73rd Assembly District we took the extraordinary step of asking Assemblymember Brough not to run for reelection due to serious allegations of sexual harassment and misuse of campaign funds. Despite asking him to not run for reelection, he has decided to run. We are committed to keeping this seat Republican. The Republican Party of Orange County and the California Republican Party have endorsed Laguna Niguel Mayor Laurie Davies as the strongest candidate to defeat Assemblymember Brough and the Democrat.
Assemblymembers Chen, Choi and Diep have strong challengers that will make the primaries competitive.The Democrats will have extra motivation to turn out in March in order to vote for the likes of Biden, Warren, and Sanders among others. We have to match their enthusiasm and remember the importance of preserving our Republican state representation when we cast our ballots.
2020 will require our very best and we are counting on every Orange County Republican voter to not only vote but to volunteer for victory. If you haven't already completed our voter pledge you can pledge to vote and sign up to volunteer at ocgop.org/voterpledge. I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Sincerely,
Hon. Fred M. Whitaker
Chairman, Republican Party of Orange County
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